Methods of reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering in a connectorized multi-fiber, fiber optic cable system, and related fiber optic cables and assemblies

ABSTRACT

Methods of reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering during preparations of a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable to provide a connectorized multi-fiber, fiber optic cable system, and related fiber optic cables and assemblies are also disclosed. The embodiments disclosed herein allow for a section of a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable to be prepared to form two or more connectorized fiber optic cables as part of a multi-fiber cable system without requiring specific fiber ordering in the fiber optic connectors. The natural ordering of the optical fibers in the fiber optic cable is fixed in place in at least one section of the fiber optic cable before the optical fibers are cut to form adjacent fiber optic connectors in the cable system. Thus, the fiber ordering between adjacent fiber optic connectors in the cable system will be the same even though the fiber ordering of the optical fibers was random during cable preparations.

PRIORITY APPLICATION

This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/330,072,filed on Dec. 19, 2011, the content of which is relied upon andincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and the benefit ofpriority under 35 U.S.C. §120 is hereby claimed.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The technology of the disclosure relates to connectorized multi-fiber,fiber optic cable preparations and manufacture, and related cables,assemblies, and systems. The connectorized multi-fiber, fiber opticcables, assemblies, and systems may be used as medium for data transferbetween data processing units, including in high performance computingsystems, as an example.

2. Technical Background

The increasing trend towards high performance computing (HPC) is drivingthe need for increased bandwidth of data communications betweenelectrical data processing units. For example, communication ratesbetween electrical data processing units may require data transfer ratesof Gigabits per second (Gps) or even tens (10s) of Gps. In this regard,optical fibers are increasingly being used in lieu of copper wires as acommunication medium between these electrical data processing units forhigh data rate communications. One or more optical fibers are packagedin a cable to provide a fiber optic cable for communicatively connectingelectrical data processing units. Optical fiber is capable oftransmitting an extremely large amount of bandwidth compared to a copperconductor with less loss and noise. An optical fiber is also lighter andsmaller compared to a copper conductor having the same bandwidthcapacity.

An example of a connectorized fiber optic cable arrangement 10 that maybe used to interconnect electrical data processing units is illustratedin FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the connectorized fiber optic cablearrangement 10 includes three fiber optic cables 12, 14, and 16. Thebreak lines illustrated in FIG. 1 in the fiber optic cables 12, 14, and16 signify that these fiber optic cables 12, 14, and 16 can be of anylength desired. This fiber optic cable arrangement 10 may be used toconnect four (4) electrical data processing units as an example. As anexample, each fiber optic cable 12, 14, 16 may include twelve (12)optical fibers. Each fiber optic cable 12, 14, 16 is connectorized oneach end with a fiber optic connector A, B, B′, C, C′, D. The fiberoptic connectors A, B, B′, C, C′, D allow each fiber optic cable 12, 14,16 to be connected to an electrical data processing unit. In thisexample, each fiber optic connector A, B, B′, C, C′, D is a twelve-fibermulti-fiber termination push-on (MTP) connector to provide bandwidth inthe capacity of twelve (12) optical fibers.

With continuing reference to FIG. 1, the fiber optic cable 12 iscomprised of two fiber optic connectors A, B on each end. The fiberoptic connector A may be connected to a first electrical data processingunit (not shown). The fiber optic connector B may be connected to asecond electrical data processing unit to connect the first electricaldata processing unit to the second electrical data processing unit viaoptical fiber in the fiber optic cable 12. Similarly, the fiber opticcable 14 is comprised of two fiber optic connectors B′ and C, where thefiber optic connector B′ can be connected to the same (second)electrical data processing unit as the fiber optic connector B.Similarly, the fiber optic cable 16 is comprised of two fiber opticconnectors C′ and D, where the fiber optic connector C′ can be connectedto the same (second) electrical data processing unit as the fiber opticconnector C. The fiber optic connector D can be connected to yet anotherelectrical data processing system to carry optical signals to and fromthe fiber optic connector C′.

The fiber optic cable arrangement 10 in FIG. 1 provides twelve (12)optical fibers for data communications. But, HPC may require muchgreater bandwidth. Thus, higher optical fiber densities may need to beprovided in a fiber optic cable arrangement. To support this need,optical fibers can be provided in smaller sizes to allow for moreoptical fibers to be disposed in a fiber optic cable. For example, if afifty (50) micrometer (μm) diameter optical fiber is coated up to aseventy-five (75) μm diameter and packaged into a conventional 2.0millimeter (mm) outer diameter (OD) fiber optic cable, two hundred (200)or more optical fibers are possible to be packaged in the 2.0 mm ODfiber optic cable as an example.

The same connectorized fiber optic cable arrangement 10 provided in FIG.1 could also be employed with higher optical fiber count fiber opticcable, but with challenges. For example, maintaining the same orderingof the optical fibers is a challenge. Ordering is the particularassignment of an optical fiber to a particular location or channel in aconnector so that fiber optic cables can be interchangeably used andmaintain the same fiber-to-fiber connections. To maintain ordering, thefiber optic connectors A, B, B′, C, C′, D could be designed to maintaina determined ordering of each optical fiber in the fiber optic cables12, 14, 16. However, this may not be possible with standard fiber opticconnector types for higher fiber counts unless the optical fiber countis split among multiple fiber optic cables from point-to-point (e.g., Ato B, B to C, C to D). For example, if a two-hundred (200) optical fibercount is desired, and the available fiber optic connectors only supporta forty-eight (48) optical fiber count maximum, five (5) fiber opticcables would be required between each point-to-point adding bothcomplexity, space issues, and cost.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed in the detailed description include methods ofreducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering during preparations of amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable to provide a connectorized multi-fiber,fiber optic cable system. Related fiber optic cables and assemblies arealso disclosed. The embodiments disclosed herein allow for a section ofa multi-fiber, fiber optic cable to be prepared to form two or moreconnectorized fiber optic cables as part of a multi-fiber cable systemwithout requiring a specific fiber ordering in the fiber opticconnectors. To accomplish this feature, the natural ordering of theoptical fibers in the fiber optic cable is fixed in place in at leastone section of the fiber optic cable before the optical fibers are cutto form adjacent fiber optic connectors in the cable system. A “naturalfiber ordering” means the fiber ordering that exists as a result of thearrangement of the optical fibers inside the fiber optic cable and asaltered when the optical fibers move or translate as a section of thefiber optic cable is windowed (i.e., cable jacket removed) and opticalfibers exposed and/or disposed in a ferrule. Thus, the fiber orderingbetween adjacent fiber optic connectors in the cable system will be thesame even though the fiber ordering of the optical fibers was randomduring cable preparations. In other embodiments, one or more of thecable ends can be provided according to a specific fiber ordering ifdesired.

In one embodiment, a method of preparing connectorized ends in amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable to provide a multi-fiber, fiber opticcable system is provided. The method comprises providing a multi-fiber,fiber optic cable at a length. The method also comprises windowing asection of the multi-fiber, fiber optic cable at a first access point toexpose optical fibers disposed in the multi-fiber, fiber optic cable.The method also comprises placing at least a portion of the exposedoptical fibers from the windowed section of the multi-fiber, fiber opticcable into at least one channel in an interior space of a double ferrulehaving a first end and a second end, the optical fibers exposed throughboth the first end and the second end of the double ferrule to form adouble ferrule assembly. The method also comprises fixing the orderingof the optical fibers disposed in the double ferrule assembly in a fixedordering. The method also comprises cutting the double ferrule assemblybetween the first end of the double ferrule and the second end of thedouble ferrule to provide a first ferrule having a first end face and asecond ferrule having a second end face, wherein the optical fibersdisposed through the first end face and the optical fibers disposedthrough the second end face both have the fixed ordering.

In another embodiment, a multi-fiber cable system is provided. Thesystem comprises a first multi-fiber, fiber optic cable comprising afirst plurality of optic fibers. The first multi-fiber, fiber opticcable also comprises a first end having a first multi-fiber, fiber opticconnector assembly disposed thereon having a first fiber ordering of thefirst plurality of optical fibers. The first multi-fiber, fiber opticcable also comprises a second end having a second multi-fiber, fiberoptic connector assembly disposed thereon having a second fiber orderingof the first plurality of optical fibers different from the first fiberordering. The system also includes a second multi-fiber, fiber opticcable comprising a second plurality of optic fibers. The secondmulti-fiber, fiber optic cable also comprises a first end having a thirdmulti-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposed thereon having thesecond fiber ordering for the second plurality of optical fibers. Thesecond multi-fiber, fiber optic cable also comprises a fourth end havinga second multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposed thereonhaving a third fiber ordering of the second plurality of optical fibersdifferent from the second fiber ordering.

Any number of additional multi-fiber, fiber optic cables could beprovided in the multi-fiber cable system to avoid and/or reduce the needfiber ordering. As one non-limiting example, the multi-fiber cablesystem could further comprise a third multi-fiber, fiber optic cablecomprised of a third plurality of optic fibers. The third multi-fiber,fiber optic cable could also comprise of a fifth end having a fifthmulti-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposed thereon having thethird fiber ordering for the third plurality of optical fibers. Thethird multi-fiber, fiber optic cable could also comprise a sixth endhaving a sixth multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposedthereon having a fourth fiber ordering of the third plurality of opticalfibers different from the third fiber ordering.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing theembodiments as described herein, including the detailed description thatfollows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description present embodiments, and are intendedto provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature andcharacter of the disclosure. The accompanying drawings are included toprovide a further understanding, and are incorporated into andconstitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate variousembodiments, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples and operation of the concepts disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary connectorized fiber optic cablearrangement that can be employed to interconnect electrical dataprocessing units;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a fully assembled, multi-fibertermination push-on (MTP) connectorized end of a high densitymulti-fiber, fiber optic cable resulting from method(s) of reducingand/or avoiding fiber ordering during preparations of connectorized endsfor multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system;

FIG. 2B is an enlarged end view of the connectorized end of themulti-fiber, fiber optic cable in FIG. 2A;

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate exemplary preparations to a multi-fiber, fiberoptic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepare MTPconnectorized ends for high density multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in amulti-fiber cable system;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary high density MTP connectorized fiberoptic cable arrangement and system prepared from preparations to amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare high density MTP connectorized ends for multi-fiber,fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system;

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate exemplary preparations to a high densitymulti-ribbon, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare MTP connectorized ends for multi-ribbon, fiber opticcables in a multi-ribbon cable system;

FIG. 6 illustrates perspective view of a fully assembled, MTPconnectorized end exposing stacked ribbons from a multi-ribbon fiberoptic cable resulting from method(s) of reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering during preparations of MTP connectorized ends for multi-ribbon,fiber optic cables in a multi-ribbon cable system;

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate exemplary preparations to a multi-fiber, fiberoptic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepareLC-style connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in amulti-fiber cable system;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary method and fiber optic ferrule forsupporting optical fibers resulting from preparations to a multi-fiber,fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepareconnectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fibercable system;

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrates another exemplary method and fiber opticferrule for supporting optical fibers resulting from preparations to amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber opticcables in a multi-fiber cable system;

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate another exemplary method of forming a fiberoptic ferrule for supporting optical fibers resulting from preparationsto a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber opticcables in a multi-fiber cable system;

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrates another exemplary method and fiber opticferrule for supporting optical fibers resulting from preparations to amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber opticcables in a multi-fiber cable system;

FIGS. 12A-12C illustrates another exemplary method and fiber opticferrule for supporting optical fibers resulting from preparations to amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber opticcables in a multi-fiber cable system; and

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate another exemplary method of forming a fiberoptic ferrule for supporting optical fibers resulting from preparationsto a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber opticcables in a multi-fiber cable system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, butnot all embodiments are shown. Indeed, the concepts may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limiting herein;rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure willsatisfy applicable legal requirements. Whenever possible, like referencenumbers will be used to refer to like components or parts.

As a non-limiting example, it may be desired to provide a high density,high bandwidth, fiber optic cable system that includes a large number ofoptical fibers for applications requiring high bandwidth or datatransfer rates, such as for high performance computing (HPC)applications as an example. These applications may require Gigabits persecond (Gps), tens of Gps, or even hundreds of Gps of data transfercapability in a communication medium, and thus why optical fiber forsuch communication medium presents an excellent choice. Multiple fiberoptic cables may be required for a particular application where theconnectorized ends between cables require an assigned fiber ordering forcompatibility reasons. However, standard fiber optic ferrules that allowfor assigning particular fiber ordering (i.e., location in the ferrule)for fiber optic connectors may not readily exist to support a largernumber of optical fibers in a single fiber optic cable for highbandwidth applications.

In this regard, embodiments disclosed in the detailed descriptioninclude methods of reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering duringpreparations of a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable to provide aconnectorized multi-fiber, fiber optic cable system. Related fiber opticcables and assemblies are also disclosed. The embodiments disclosedherein allow for a section of a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable to beprepared to form two or more connectorized fiber optic cables as part ofa multi-fiber cable system without requiring a specific fiber orderingin the fiber optic connectors. To accomplish this feature, the orderingof the optical fibers in the fiber optic cable as they exist withoutmanipulation of ordering (i.e., the natural ordering), is fixed in placein at least one section of the fiber optic cable before the opticalfibers are cut to form adjacent fiber optic connectors in the cablesystem. Thus, the fiber ordering between adjacent fiber optic connectorsin the cable system will be the same even though the fiber ordering ofthe optical fibers was random during cable preparations. In otherembodiments, one or more of the cable ends can be provided according toa specific fiber ordering if desired.

An exemplary connectorized end supporting a large number of opticalfibers from a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable prepared using the methodsof reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering during preparations disclosedherein is first described. In this regard, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate afully assembled, multi-fiber termination push-on (MTP) connectorized end20 (or “connectorized end 20”) of one multi-fiber, fiber optic cable 22(or “fiber optic cable 22”). FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the fullyassembled, MTP connectorized end 20 of the multi-fiber, fiber opticcable 22. FIG. 2B is an enlarged end view of the connectorized end 20 ofthe multi-fiber, fiber optic cable 22 in FIG. 2A. The connectorized end20 of the fiber optic cable 22 resulted from method(s) of reducingand/or avoiding fiber ordering during preparations of connectorized endsfor multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system, aswill be described in more detail below.

With continued reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an MTP ferrule 24 (or“ferrule 24”) is provided in an MTP connector 26 on an end 27 of thefiber optic cable 22. The number of optical fibers 28 provided in thefiber optic cable 22 may be hundreds, for example, two hundred (200) ormore. For example, the number of optical fibers 28 provided in the fiberoptic cable 22 is three hundred and fifty (350) in this example. Toprovide for a large number of the optical fibers 28 to be provided in afiber optic cable 22 that is of acceptable size to be desirable, thesize of the optical fibers 28 may be minimized. For example, the outerdiameter of the optical fibers 28 may be selected to be between forty(40) and sixty (60) micrometers (μm) (e.g., 50 μm) of glass (e.g., corewith or without cladding) and having an outer diameter of 70-100 μm(e.g., 75 μm) when coated. This may allow a large number of the opticalfibers 28 to be provided in a smaller sized fiber optic cable 22. Forexample, the outer diameter of the fiber optic cable 22 may be less than5.1 millimeters (mm), and 2.0 mm or approximately 2.0 mm (e.g., 1.9 mmto 2.1 mm) in one example.

With continued reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the MTP ferrule 24 isprovided in the MTP connector 26 as one example of a convenient ferrulethat can be employed to connectorize a larger number of optical fibers28 from the fiber optic cable 22. The MTP ferrule 24 in this example wasnot selected because of an exclusive ability to support a larger numberof optical fibers for fiber optic connections. The MTP ferrule 24 wasselected in this embodiment as a convenient ferrule type to provide astandard connector type to allow for mating of ferrules for fiber opticconnections. The MTP ferrule 24 is one example of a convenient ferruletype that contains an opening 30 sized to allow the desired large numberof optical fibers 28 to be supported by the ferrule 24 for high densityfiber optic connections in a fiber optic cable system. However, as willbe described, other ferrule types are possible, and the methods andcable systems disclosed herein are not limited to any particular ferruletype. As will be described herein, custom ferrule types or form factorscan also be employed if desired.

With the methods disclosed herein, the selection of a ferrule is notbased on how the ferrule design may allow or encourage specificassignment optical fibers to specific locations or channels in an endface 32 of the ferrule 24. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2B,optical fibers 28 from the fiber optic cable 22 exposed through the endface 32 of the ferrule 24 are not assigned to a particular fiber orderor separated to particular locations by the ferrule 24. This may beadvantageous, because standard ferrule types may not be available thatsupport allowing for optical fibers to be assigned specific locations inan end face of the ferrule for the number of optical fibers provided ina fiber optic cable to create the fiber optic cable system. Further,even if a ferrule type was available to allow for specific assignment oflocation of optical fibers, providing such during assembly may beextremely costly in terms of labor and complexity.

In this regard, with reference back to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the opticalfibers 28 are arranged in random order through the opening 30 in the endface 32 of the ferrule 24. As will be described in this disclosure, themethods of preparing fiber optic cable systems disclosed herein do notrequire the optical fibers, including the optical fibers 28 exposed fromthe ferrule 24 of the MTP connector 26 in FIGS. 2A and 2B, to bespecifically ordered to provide a compatible fiber optic cable system.

FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate exemplary preparations to a fiber optic cable 34that will eventually produce at least two fiber optic cables for a fiberoptic cable system, one of which is the fiber optic cable 22 in FIGS. 2Aand 2B in this example. These preparations reduce and/or avoid fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for high-density multi-fiber,fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system. FIGS. 3A-3F illustrateexemplary preparations to the fiber optic cable 34 before the fiberoptic cable 34 is separated into two separate fiber optic cables, one ofwhich is the fiber optic cable 22 in FIGS. 2A and 2B, to form part or awhole of a fiber optic cable system. FIGS. 3F-3G illustrate exemplarypreparations to connectorize ends of the fiber optic cable 34 onceprepared using the preparations described and illustrated in FIGS.3A-3E. FIGS. 3H and 3I illustrate the fiber optic cables for the fiberoptic cable system prepared from the fiber optic cable 34 when the MTPconnector 26 is fully assembled on the ends of the fiber optic cables.

FIG. 3A illustrates the multi-fiber, fiber optic cable 34. Themulti-fiber, fiber optic cable 34 may be a high-density fiber opticcable that includes a larger number of optical fibers to support highdata rate transfers. For example, the fiber optic cable 34 can includethe same exemplary characteristics and fiber count as the fiber opticcable 22 discussed above in FIGS. 2A and 2B, since the fiber optic cable22 was prepared from the fiber optic cable 34, as will be describedbelow. The fiber optic cable 34 may include an outer cable jacket 35 toprotect optical fibers disposed within the fiber optic cable 34. Thefiber optic cable 34 is provided at the desired length L₁ for the entirelength of the fiber optic cable system to be prepared and manufactured,as illustrated in FIG. 3A. A section 36 of the fiber optic cable 34 iswindowed to expose the optical fibers 38 disposed in the fiber opticcable 34. For example, windowing may involve stripping away the outercable jacket 35 from the fiber optic cable 34 to expose the opticalfibers 38 disposed in the fiber optic cable 34. A stripping tool orother tool may be employed to strip away the outer cable jacket 35.

Note that the optical fibers 38 referenced in FIG. 3B are the sameoptical fibers 28 in the fiber optic cable 22 in FIGS. 2A and 2B afterpreparations are completed in accordance with FIGS. 3A-3I to prepare thefiber optic cable system. These preparations will eventually provide acutting of the fiber optic cable 34 and optical fibers 38 disposedtherein to provide at least two separate fiber optic cables from thesingle fiber optic cable 34. In this example, two fiber optic cableswill be produced from the single fiber optic cable 34: the fiber opticcable 22 supporting optical fibers 28, and another fiber optic cable 22′supporting optical fibers 28′, as illustrated in FIG. 3B.

After windowing of the section 36 of the fiber optic cable 34 to theexpose the optical fibers 38, the optical fibers 38 in this example areplaced in a double ferrule 40, as illustrated in FIG. 3C. At least aportion of the exposed optical fibers 38 from the windowed section 36 ofthe fiber optic cable 34 are disposed in a channel 42 in an interiorspace 44 of the double ferrule 40. The exposed optical fibers 38 areexposed through both a first end 46 and a second end 48 of the doubleferrule 40 to form a double ferry assembly 50. The double ferrule 40 inthe double ferrule assembly 50 provides a structure that can be cut toprovide two opposing ferrules that can be connectorized to providecompatible adjacent fiber optic connectors as part of the fiber opticcable assembly. It may be desired to try to suppress angles in thedouble ferrule 40 to avoid kerf resulting in offset in the opticalfibers 38.

At this point, the natural fiber ordering of the exposed optical fibers38 in the interior space 44 of the double ferrule 40 can be fixed toensure that the fiber ordering does not change as further preparationsare made. A “natural fiber ordering” means the fiber ordering thatexists as a result of the arrangement of the optical fibers 38 insidethe fiber optic cable 34 and as altered when the optical fibers 38 moveor translate as the section 36 is windowed and the optical fibers 38exposed and disposed in the double ferrule 40. In this regard, asillustrated in FIG. 3D, the first end 46 and the second end 48 of thedouble ferrule 40 is sealed with collars 52, 52′ so a potting material56 disposed in the interior space 44 of the double ferrule 40 isretained in the interior space 44 of the double ferrule 40, asillustrated in FIG. 3E. For example, the collars 52, 52′ may be sealedon the first end 46 and the second end 48 of the double ferrule 40 usingan Ultraviolet (UV) adhesive, an epoxy, and room temperature vulcanizing(RTV). The potting material 56 is used to fix the fiber ordering, as itexists up through this point in preparations, of the exposed opticalfibers 38 disposed in the interior space 44 of the double ferrule 40.The double ferrule assembly 50 may then be cured in an oven or throughother heat source to solidify the potting material 56 in the interiorspace 44 of the double ferrule 40 to fix the fiber ordering of theoptical fibers 38. For example, the double ferrule assembly 50 may becured at temperatures between 20 degrees Celsius and 300 degrees Celsiusand/or for a period of time such as up to two (2) minutes, asnon-limiting examples. Thus, when the double ferrule assembly 50 is cutto form two separate ferrules from the double ferrule 40, the fiberorder of the optical fiber 38 will be the same between both ferruleswithout the fiber order having to be assigned.

In this regard, FIG. 3F illustrates the double ferrule assembly 50 afterthe double ferrule 40 has been cut between the first end 46 and thesecond end 48. In this embodiment, the double ferrule 40 is cut in halfat center line C₁ to provide a first ferrule 24 having a first end face32 and a second ferrule 24′ having a second end face 32′. The cutting ofthe double ferrule 40 also provides two fiber optic cables 22, 22′. Forexample, the double ferrule 40 may be cut using a laser, a diamondblade, and/or an abrasive wire. The first ferrule 24 is provided as partof the fiber optic cable 22, and the second ferrule 24′ is provided aspart of the fiber optic cable 22′. As previously discussed, the opticalfibers 28 that are disposed through the first ferrule 24 and the opticalfibers 28′ that are disposed through the second ferrule 24′ have thesame fiber ordering since the fiber ordering was filed at the centerline C₁ when the potting material 56 was disposed in the interior space44 of the double ferrule 40. Thus, the first ferrule 24 and the secondferrule 24′ are compatible, meaning they contain exposed optical fibers28, 28′ having the same fiber ordering, and without the fiber orderinghaving to have been assigned or selected in the ferrules 24, 24′.

The optical fibers 28, 28′ may then be polished or planarizationpreparations made to prepare the fiber optic cables 22, 22′ for use.Rough polishing may be provided. Also, flock polishing of the opticalfibers 28, 28′ may be performed. The exact polishing preparations andsteps may depend on the material selected for the ferrules 24, 24′. Forexample, if ULTEM® is selected, flock polishing sequences may beappropriate.

FIG. 3G illustrates one of the fiber optic cables 22 or 22′ after thedouble ferrule 40 is cut and the optical fibers 28 or 28′ exposedthrough the end face 32 or 32′. FIGS. 3H and 3I illustrate right andleft perspective views, respectively, of one of the fiber optic cables22 or 22′ after the ferrule 24 or 24′ has been connectorized, which inthis example is an MTP connector 26 or 26′. As can be seen from FIG. 3H,once the double ferrule 40 is cut and the ferrules 24, 24′ are producedand connectorized as a result of the above discussed preparations, thefiber optic cable 22, 22′ produced for the fiber optic cable systemappears like the connectorized fiber optic cable 22 in FIG. 2A.

The methods of reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering duringpreparations of the fiber optic cable 34 in FIG. 3A to provideconnectorized multi-fiber, fiber optic cables 22, 22′ described aboveallow providing a cable system. The cable system, in the example ofFIGS. 3A-3I, is comprised of two fiber optic cables 22, 22′ each havingMTP connectors 26, 26′ having the same fiber ordering although fiberordering was not specifically assigned. However, this method and otherexemplary methods herein can be employed to produce any number of fiberoptic cables for a fiber optic cable system, as discussed below.

In this regard, FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary high density MTPconnectorized fiber optic cable system 60 prepared from preparations tothe multi-fiber, fiber optic cable 34 illustrated in FIG. 3A describedabove. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the fiber optic cable system 60 iscomprised of three (3) fiber optic cables in this example: the fiberoptic cables 22 and 22′ previously discussed and illustrated above, anda third fiber optic cable 22″. The single length of fiber optic cable 34illustrated in FIG. 3A was used to produce all three fiber optic cables22, 22′, and 22″ in the example fiber optic cable system 60 in FIG. 4.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4, the three fiber optic cables 22,22′, and 22″ provided in the fiber optic cable system 60 were created asa result of providing two double ferrules 40, 40′ in two differentsections of the fiber optic cable 34 in FIG. 3A according to the methoddescribed above. The fiber optic cable 22 may be considered anintermediate or jumper cable in this exemplary fiber optic cable system60. The fiber optic cable 22′ may be provided to connect a source to adetector connected to the fiber optic cable 22″. In this regard, twopairs of adjacent ferrules 24, 24′ were created as a result of cuttingthe double ferrule 40. Another two pairs of adjacent ferrules, 24″, 24′″were created as a result of cutting the double ferrule 40′. Thus, in thefiber optic cable system 60, adjacent ferrules 24, 24′ contain the samefiber ordering, and adjacent ferrules 24″, 24′″ contain the same fiberordering. However, the fiber ordering does not have to be the samebetween ferrules 24, 24′ and 24″, 24′″ for the fiber optic cable system60 to provide fiber optic cable compatibility. All that is required isthat the fiber ordering between adjacent ferrules 24, 24′ and 24″, 24′″have the same fiber ordering to maintain compatibility of connectionsbetween adjacent fiber optic cables 22, 22′ and 22′, 22″. In otherwords, the fiber optic cable 22 is compatible with the fiber opticcables 22′ and 22″.

The methods described herein can also be employed with ribbon fiberoptic cables or multi-ribbon fiber optic cables. In this regard, FIGS.5A-5D illustrate exemplary preparations to a high density multi-ribbon,fiber optic cable 70 (or “fiber optic cable 70”) for reducing and/oravoiding fiber ordering to prepare MTP connectorized ends formulti-ribbon, fiber optic cables in a multi-ribbon fiber optic cablesystem. As illustrated in the perspective view in FIG. 5A, the fiberoptic cable 70 contains multiple ribbons 72(1)-72(N), with N signifyingany number of ribbons. As a non-limiting example, the fiber optic cable70 may include high fiber counts, such as thirty (30), 900 μm fibers, oralternatively a lower fiber count ribbon. Providing the multi-ribbon,fiber optic cable 70 may allow for a large number of optical fibers tobe provided in a fiber optic cable to provide high-density fiber opticcable systems for high-density applications. The fiber optic cable 70may include an outer cable jacket 74 to protect the ribbons 72(1)-72(N)disposed within the fiber optic cable 70. The fiber optic cable 70 maybe provided at the desired length for the entire length of themulti-ribbon fiber optic cable system to be prepared and manufactured. Asection 76 of the fiber optic cable 70 is windowed to expose the ribbons72(1)-72(N) disposed in the fiber optic cable 70. For example, windowingmay involve stripping away the outer cable jacket 74 from the fiberoptic cable 70 to expose the ribbons 72(1)-72(N) disposed in the fiberoptic cable 70. A stripping tool or other tool may be employed to stripaway the outer cable jacket 74.

After windowing of the section 76 of the fiber optic cable 70 to theexpose the ribbons 72(1)-72(N), the ribbons 72(1)-72(N) in this exampleare placed in a double ferrule 78, as illustrated in the perspectiveview in FIG. 5A. FIGS. 5B-5D illustrate top, additional perspective, andclose-up perspective views, respectively, of the ribbons 72(1)-72(N)disposed in the double ferrule 78. The exposed ribbons 72(1)-72(N) fromthe windowed section 76 of the fiber optic cable 70 are disposed inchannels 80(1)-80N in an interior space 82 of the double ferrule 78. Thenotation 1-N signifies that any number of channels 80 can be provided inthe double ferrule 78. The double ferrule 78 may be designed to providefor an orderly and even distribution of the ribbons 72(1)-72(N) in thechannels 80(1)-80(N). One ribbon 72(1)-72(N) may be disposed in a givenchannel 80(1)-80(N), or multiple ribbons 72(1)-72(N) may disposed in asingle channel 80(1)-80(N).

With continuing reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, the exposed ribbons72(1)-72(N) are exposed through both a first end 84 and a second end 86of the double ferrule 78 to form a double ferrule assembly 88. Thedouble ferrule 78 in the double ferrule assembly 88 provides a structurethat can be cut to provide two opposing ferrules that can beconnectorized to provide compatible adjacent fiber optic connectors aspart of the fiber optic cable assembly. At this point, the natural fiberordering of the exposed ribbons 72(1)-72(N) in the interior space 82 ofthe double ferrule 78 can be fixed to ensure that the ribbon 72(1)-72(N)ordering and/or fiber ordering in the ribbons 72(1)-72(N) does notchange as further preparations are made. In this regard, as illustratedin FIGS. 5A-5D, the first end 84 and the second end 86 of the doubleferrule 78 can optionally be sealed so a potting material 90 disposed inthe interior space 82 of the double ferrule 78 is retained in theinterior space 82 of the double ferrule 78. The potting material 90 isused to fix the ribbon/fiber ordering, as it exists up through thispoint in preparations, of the exposed optical ribbons 72(1)-72(N)disposed in the interior space 82 of the double ferrule 78.

The double ferrule assembly 88 may then be cured in an oven or throughother heat source to solidify the potting material 90 in the interiorspace 82 of the double ferrule 78 to fix the fiber ordering of theribbons 72(1)-72(N). For example, the double ferrule assembly 88 may becured at temperatures between 20 degrees Celsius and 300 degreesCelsius, and/or for a period of time such as up to two (2) minutes, asnon-limiting examples. Thus, when the double ferrule assembly 88 is cutto form two separate ferrules from the double ferrule 78, the fiberorder of the ribbons 72(1)-72(N) and optical fibers disposed thereinwill be the same between both ferrules without the fiber order having tobe assigned.

The double ferrule 78 is then cut between the first end 84 and thesecond end 86 to create two separate ferrules in the fiber optic cable70. For example, the double ferrule 78 can be cut in half at the centerof the double ferrule 78 to provide a first ferrule having a first endface and a second ferrule having a second end face. The double ferrule78 may also include reduced cross-section portions, as illustrated inFIGS. 5A-5D, where the double ferrule 78 is to be cut to reduce cut timeand to aid in fiber protrusion. The cutting of the double ferrule 78also provides two fiber optic cables 92, 92′, as illustrated in FIGS.5A-5D. For example, the double ferrule 78 may be cut using at least oneof a laser, a diamond blade, and an abrasive wire. The ordering of theribbons 72(1)-72(N) and optical fibers therein will be fiber ordered thesame in both ferrules produced from cutting the double ferrule 78.Further, the individual ferrules produced by cutting the double ferrule78 can be connectorized, if desired, such as with MTP connectors whenthe double ferrule 78 is a MTP type double ferrule. If another type offerrule is used, other compatible connector types can be provided.

For example, FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a fully assembled,MTP connectorized end 100 of ribbons 102(1)-102(N) from a fiber opticcable prepared according to methods disclosed herein. In this example, aferrule 104 that resulted from cutting a double ferrule according to themethods and embodiments disclosed herein allowed for stacking of theribbons 102(1)-102(N) in a specific order, which are shown in an endface 106 of the ferrule 104. In this example, the ferrule 104 isinternally configured to allow assignment of a particular ribbon102(1)-102(N) to a particular vertical position in the Y-direction, asillustrated in FIG. 6. However, the particular ordering of the ribbons102(1)-102(N) into particular vertical positions is not requiredaccording to the methods and embodiments disclosed herein. Because theribbons 102(1)-102(N) will have been assigned into vertical positionsconsistently in the double ferrule from which the ferrule 104 resultedbefore being cut, the ribbons 102(1)-102(N) will have been assigned intovertical positions consistently between an adjacent ferrule to theferrule 104, thus maintaining the same fiber ordering.

The methods of reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering duringpreparations of a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable to provide aconnectorized multi-fiber, fiber optic cable system can also be providedwith different types of fiber optic ferrules other than the MTP styleferrules disclosed above. For example, FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate exemplarypreparations to a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable 110 for reducing and/oravoiding fiber ordering to prepare LC-style connectorized ends formulti-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system. Forexample, an LC-style ferrule type may be used to produce a fiber opticcable system like the fiber optic cable system 60 in FIG. 4 as anexample, except that LC-style connectors will be disposed on the fiberoptic cable ends instead of MTP connectors.

FIG. 7A illustrates the multi-fiber, fiber optic cable 110. Themulti-fiber, fiber optic cable may be a high-density fiber optic cablethat includes a larger number of optical fibers to support high datarate transfers. The fiber optic cable 110 may include an outer cablejacket 112 to protect optical fibers 114 disposed within the fiber opticcable 110. The fiber optic cable 110 is provided at the desired lengthfor the entire length of the fiber optic cable system to be prepared andmanufactured. A section 116 of the fiber optic cable 110 is windowed toexposed the optical fibers 114 disposed in the fiber optic cable 110, asillustrated in FIG. 7A. For example, windowing may involve strippingaway the outer cable jacket 112 from the fiber optic cable 110 to exposethe optical fibers 114 disposed in the fiber optic cable 110. Astripping tool or other tool may be employed to strip away the outercable jacket 112.

After windowing of the section 116 of the fiber optic cable 110 to theexpose the optical fibers 114, the optical fibers 114 in this exampleare placed in an LC-style double ferrule 118 (or “double ferrule 118”)as also illustrated in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7A illustrates a side view of thedouble ferrule 118. FIG. 7B illustrates a top view of the double ferrule118. At least a portion of the exposed optical fibers 114 from thewindowed section 116 of the fiber optic cable 110 are disposed in atleast one channel 120 in an interior space 122 of the double ferrule118. The exposed optical fibers 114 are exposed through both a first end124 and a second end 126 of the double ferrule 118 to form a doubleferrule assembly 128. The double ferrule 118 in the double ferruleassembly 128 provides a structure that can be cut to provide twoopposing ferrules that can be connectorized to provide compatibleadjacent fiber optic connectors as part of the fiber optic cableassembly.

At this point, the natural fiber ordering of the exposed optical fibers114 in the interior space 122 of the double ferrule 118 can be fixed toensure that the fiber ordering does not change as further preparationsare made. A “natural fiber ordering” means the fiber ordering thatexists as a result of the arrangement of the optical fibers 114 insidethe fiber optic cable 110 and as altered when the optical fibers 114move or translate as the section 116 is windowed and the optical fibers114 exposed and disposed in the double ferrule 118. In this regard, asillustrated in FIG. 7B, the first end 124 and the second end (not shownin FIG. 7B) of the double ferrule 118 are sealed with a collar 130. Apotting material 131 is used to fix the fiber ordering, as it exists upthrough this point in preparations, of the exposed optical fibers 114disposed in the interior space 122 of the double ferrule 118. The doubleferrule assembly 128 may then be cured in an oven or through other heatsource to solidify the potting material 131 in the interior space 122 ofthe double ferrule 118 to fix the fiber ordering of the optical fibers114. For example, the double ferrule assembly 128 may be cured attemperatures between 20 degrees Celsius and 300 degrees Celsius and/orfor a period of time such as up to two (2) minutes, as non-limitingexamples. Thus, when the double ferrule 118 is cut to form two separateferrules from the double ferrule 118, the fiber order of the opticalfibers 114 will be the same between both ferrules without the fiberorder having to be assigned.

In this regard, FIG. 7B illustrates a portion of the double ferruleassembly 128 after the double ferrule 118 has been cut between the firstend 124 and the second end 126. In this embodiment, the double ferrule118 is cut in half at center line C₂ (FIG. 7A) to provide a firstferrule 132 having a first end face 134 and a second ferrule (not shown)having a second end face. The cutting of the double ferrule 118 alsoprovides two fiber optic cables 136, 136′. For example, the doubleferrule 118 may be cut using at least one of a laser, a diamond blade,and an abrasive wire. The first ferrule 132 is provided as part of thefiber optic cable 136, and a second ferrule is provided as part of thefiber optic cable 136′. The optical fibers 114 are disposed through thefirst end face 134 of the first ferrule 132 and through the end face ofthe second ferrule such that the exposed optical fibers 114 have thesame fiber ordering. This is because the fiber ordering was filed at thecenter line C₂ when the potting material was discussed in the interiorspace 122 of the double ferrule 118. Thus, the first ferrule 132 and asecond ferrule produced from cutting the double ferrule 118 arecompatible, meaning they contain exposed optical fibers 114 having thesame fiber ordering without the fiber ordering having to have beenassigned or selected.

FIG. 7C illustrates the fiber optic cables 136 after the first ferrule132 has been connectorized, which in this example is an LC-style fiberoptic connector 138. The LC-style fiber optic connector 138 has featuresnormally present in LC-style fiber optic connectors, including aconnector housing 140, a fiber optic cable boot 142, and a trigger 144configured to activate a latch 146 for removing the LC-style fiber opticconnector 138 from an adapter or another connector.

The optical fibers from a fiber optic cable may be disposed in a ferrulein a number of manners and methods, including with different processesand using different materials. These manners and methods may includetechniques to maximize the interior space inside a ferrule for maximumdisposition of optical ferrules therein. These ferrules may includecertain packaging or geometric features to assist in retaining opticalfibers in an interior space of the ferrule. In this regard, FIG. 8illustrates an exemplary method and fiber optic ferrule for supportingoptical fibers resulting from preparations to a multi-fiber, fiber opticcable for reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepareconnectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fibercable system. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a U-shaped ferrule 150 isprovided that may be used as a ferrule for preparations of amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable to reduce and/or avoid fiber ordering toprepare a fiber optic cable system. The U-shaped ferrule 150 in FIG. 8is a custom U-shaped ferrule in this embodiment, and formed usinginjection molded plastic, or stamped metal as examples.

With continuing reference to FIG. 8, optical fibers 154 are arranged ina stacked fashion inside an interior space 156 formed inside theU-shaped ferrule 150. The stacked optical fibers 154 may be provided inindividual ribbons that are stacked on top of each other, or may beprovided as individual fibers that are arranged and/or stacked insidethe interior space 156 of the U-shaped ferrule 150. Just as previouslydiscussed, a potting material 158 is disposed inside the interior space156 and surrounds an interstitial space 157 between the optical fibers154 to fix the optical fiber 154 in place to provide for a fixed fiberordering prior to cutting of the U-shaped ferrule 150. For example, theU-shaped ferrule 150 may be cut using at least one of a laser, a diamondblade, and an abrasive wire.

With continuing reference to FIG. 8, the U-shaped ferrule 150 mayinclude an exterior surface 152 that is smooth in this embodiment. Theexterior surface 152 of the U-shaped ferrule 150 may be dimensionallyuniform along the length of the U-shaped ferrule 150 prior to cutting.In order to use the U-shaped ferrule 150 to prepare a fiber optic cablesystem according to the embodiments disclosed herein, a custom fiberoptic connector may need to be created and/or modified to accommodatethe variances in optical fiber shape of the arrangement of the opticalfibers 154 disposed in the interior space 156 of the U-shaped ferrule150 and fixed therein after potting. In this example, it may be usefulto ensure that the fiber optic connector assembly employed toconnectorize the U-shaped ferrule 150 only applies force to exteriorsurfaces 152 of the U-shaped ferrule 150 wherein dimensional control iswell maintained, such as a bottom 160 and sides 162A, 162B of theU-shaped ferrule 150. Providing a custom ferrule design, such as theU-shaped ferrule 150, could be used to ensure that standard fiber opticconnector types, such as LC-style or MTP type connectors for example,will not mistakenly be used in a fiber optic cable system created fromthe custom ferrule.

In an alternative configuration, the depth of a U-shaped ferrule may beincreased to provide deformable tabs extending above the region whereoptical fibers are disposed inside the ferrule. This allows thedeformable tabs to be folded back onto the ferrule to provide anenclosure to protect the optical fibers disposed inside the ferrule. Inthis regard, FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate such an alternative U-shapedferrule 170. The U-shaped ferrule 170 can be used to support opticalfibers resulting from preparations to a multi-fiber, fiber optic cablefor reducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepare connectorizedends for multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B, optical fibers 172 arearranged in a stacked fashion inside an interior space 174 inside theU-shaped ferrule 170. The optical fibers 172 may contain ribbons ofoptical fibers or individual optical fibers that are stacked inside theinterior space 174 of the U-shaped ferrule 170. Just as previouslydiscussed, a potting material 176 is disposed inside the interior space174 and surrounds an interstitial space 178 between the optical fibers172 to fix the optical fiber 172 in place to provide for providing afixed fiber ordering prior to cutting of the U-shaped ferrule 170. Forexample, the U-shaped ferrule 170 may be cut using at least one of alaser, a diamond blade, and an abrasive wire.

The U-shaped ferrule 170 in FIGS. 9A and 9B is similar to the U-shapedferrule 150 in FIG. 8. However in the U-shaped ferrule 170, asillustrated in FIG. 9A, a depth D₁ of the U-shaped ferrule 170 may beextended so that deformable tabs 180A, 180B are provided on each side182A, 182B of the U-shaped ferrule 170. The deformable tabs 180A, 180Bare configured to be pushed inward towards the interior space 174, asshown by arrows 184A, 184B in FIG. 9A before or after the optical fibers172 are potted inside the interior space 174 of the U-shaped ferrule170. In this manner, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the U-shaped ferrule 170completely or almost complete surrounds the optical fibers 172 disposedin the interior space 174 of the U-shaped ferrule 170.

A mold may be used to form a ferrule used to prepare fiber optic cablesystems using the methods disclosed herein, the ferrule may also beformed using molded potting material as another example. In this regard,FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate another exemplary ferrule 190 forsupporting optical fibers 192 resulting from preparations to amulti-fiber, fiber optic cable for reducing and/or avoiding fiberordering to prepare connectorized ends for multi-fiber, fiber opticcables in a multi-fiber cable system. In this example as illustrated inFIG. 10A, a mold 194 is provided that has a similar form to the U-shapedferrules 150 or 170 in FIG. 8 and FIGS. 9A and 9B, respectively. Themold 194 may be provided to assist in forming the ferrule 190, asillustrated in FIG. 10B. For example, a ferrule from the mold may enablea low cost fabrication of connectors and connectorization of fiber opticcables in a fiber optic cable system provided according to theembodiments and methods disclosed herein.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the mold 194 is used topot the optical fibers 192 to provide the ferrule 190, as illustrated inFIG. 10B. The mold 194 maybe constructed from a potting material. Aseparate potting material 195 is disposed inside an interior space 196in the mold 194 to fix the optical fibers 192 together and in a fixedordering before cutting, as illustrated in FIG. 10A. After the pottingmaterial 195 has solidified, such as after a curing process as anexample, the mold 194 can be removed, as illustrated in FIG. 10B. Theferrule 190 will then consist of the potted optical fibers 198 afterpotting without the retention of the mold 194. The ferrule 190 can thenbe cut to form compatible ferrules having the same fiber ordering aspart of a fiber optic cable system.

While certain embodiments disclosed herein, such as FIGS. 8-10B,disclose the preparation of a ferrule with arrays or ribbons of opticalfibers, a similar approach may be followed using a large number ofindividual optical fibers. In this regard, FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrateanother exemplary fiber optic ferrule for supporting optical fibersresulting from preparations to a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable forreducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepare connectorized endsfor multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system. Withreference to FIG. 11A, a U-shaped ferrule 210 is provided and disposedin front of a fiber optic cable jacket 211. Individual optical fibers212 are disposed in fiber clusters 213 inside an interior space 214 ofthe U-shaped ferrule 210. A potting material 216 can be disposed in theinterior space 214 to fix the optical fibers 212 and fix the fiberordering inside the interior space 214. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, theU-shaped ferrule 210 contains two deformable tabs 218A, 218A that can bedeformed towards each other rotationally in the directions of arrows220A, 220B towards the interior space 214 of the U-shaped ferrule 210either before or after the potting material 216 is disposed in theinterior space 214 of the U-shaped ferrule 210. As illustrated in FIG.11B, a gap G remains between the two deformable tabs 218A, 218B. The gapG provides a feature in the U-shaped ferrule 210 that, for example,could be used to provide rotation alignment of the U-shaped ferrule 210in a connector assembly when the U-shaped ferrule 210 is connectorized.Alternatively, the gap G could provide a precision slot that is sawedinto the U-shaped ferrule 210 prior to the formation of the U-shapedferrule 210, so that the position and dimensions of the gap G are usedto ensure rotation alignment during the connectorization process.

Alternatively or optionally, the optical fibers disposed in a ferrulecould be forced or packed down in an interior space of the ferrule usinga press and/or vibration to control the disposition or ordering of theoptical fibers to micro-precision, to reduce the interstitial spacebetween optical fibers, and/or allow more optical fibers to be providedin a given ferrule. These features could be provided with any of theferrule embodiments disclosed herein. In this regard, FIGS. 12A-12Cillustrate a fiber optic ferrule 230 for supporting optical fibersresulting from preparations to a multi-fiber, fiber optic cable forreducing and/or avoiding fiber ordering to prepare connectorized endsfor multi-fiber, fiber optic cables in a multi-fiber cable system. Theferrule 230 in this embodiment includes an interior space 232 that isconfigured to receive optical fibers 234, as illustrated in FIG. 12A. Apress 236 is provided that will be used to force the optical fibers 234down into the interior space 232 of the ferrule 230 towards a bottomsurface 238 of the ferrule 230.

With reference to FIG. 12B, the press 236 is activated to press theoptical fibers 234 disposed in the interior space 232 towards the bottomsurface 238 of the ferrule 230, either prior to or after a pottingmaterial 240 is disposed in the interior space 232 of the ferrule 230.The optical fibers 234 will self-align to a regular array in response sothat the center locations in each optical fiber 234 are established tobe within small distances to each other, such as within few micrometersof each other, after the press 236 is withdrawn, as illustrated in FIG.12C. The alignment of the optical fibers 234 will be fixed, therebyfixing the fiber ordering, when the potting material 240 solidifies,such as through a curing process as an example. The ferrule 230 may alsobe vibrated in lieu of or in addition to employing the press 236,including in a lateral motion, as indicated by arrows 242 in FIGS. 12Aand 12B as an example, to further reduce the interstitial space betweenthe optical fibers 234 disposed in the interior space 232 of the ferrule230 to cause the optical fibers 234 to self-align, as discussed above.

Alternatively, similar to the ferrule 190 in FIGS. 10A and 10B, aferrule in FIGS. 13A and 13B may be provided as the result of using amold 250. The mold 250 will be removed after the potting material 240 isapplied to the optical fibers 234 disposed in the mold 250. The mold 250can then be removed to produce a ferrule 252 as the optical fibers 234are secured by the potting material 240. The features discussed withrespect to any of the embodiments discussed above, including but notlimited to pressing, vibration, packing, and potting, may be applied tothe mold 250 to self-align the optical fibers 234 disposed there beforethe mold 250 is removed to form the ferrule 252. Also as discussed abovefor FIGS. 10A and 10B, producing a ferrule from a mold may enable a lowcost fabrication of connectors.

As used herein, it is intended that terms “fiber optic cables” and/or“optical fibers” include all types of single mode and multi-mode lightwaveguides, including one or more optical fibers that may be upcoated,colored, buffered, ribbonized and/or have other organizing or protectivestructure in a cable such as one or more tubes, strength members,jackets or the like. The optical fibers disclosed herein can be singlemode or multi-mode optical fibers. Likewise, other types of suitableoptical fibers include bend-insensitive optical fibers, or any otherexpedient of a medium for transmitting light signals. An example of abend-insensitive, or bend resistant, optical fiber is ClearCurve®Multimode fiber commercially available from Corning Incorporated.Suitable fibers of this type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. PatentApplication Publication Nos. 2008/0166094 and 2009/0169163, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the embodiments set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theembodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. For example, theferrules disclosed herein can also include optional ports for injectingthe potting material or material into an interior space of the ferrules.Ferrules can be produced from molds that are removed, leaving onlypotted optical fibers or fiber arrays, which may be beneficial for lowmate/demate frequency applications as one non-limiting example.Alternatively, slots or other external features can be provided to aidin mechanical interconnection or latching of the ferrules. These slotscan be used to engage other components within the same connector for theU-shaped ferrule, such as a collar component or to engage mechanicalmating features within an alignment channel to retain a connector inplace to the ferrule. Integrating these mechanical interconnections orlatching features within the body of the ferrule may enable simplifiedand/or low cost connectors for connectorizing the fiber optic cablesystems prepared using the methods disclosed herein.

While the fiber array or individual optical fiber arrangements disclosedherein are not required to be specifically assigned or ordered, theoptical fibers disposed within any of the ferrules disclosed hereincould be specifically assigned, if desired, during the preparations andmethods disclosed herein. This approach would allow replacement of atleast one side of a mass fiber array connection, either at the source,at an intermediate jumper cable, or at the detector, without requiringreplacement of the entire length of a fiber optic cable system. However,even if the optical fibers are not specifically ordered, the mapping ofoptical fibers could be detected by a detector by electronic mapping orremapping. One example of mapping of optical fibers in a fiber opticcable system that may be employed to map optical fibers in the fiberoptic cable systems disclosed herein is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,623,793 entitled “System and Method of Configuring Fiber OpticCommunication Channels Between Arrays of Emittters and Detectors,” whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Though the connectors and adapters provided herein are fiber opticconnectors and adapters, other types may be provided, including but notlimited to FC, SC, ST, LC, MTP and MPO, as examples. The terms“connector” and “adapter” are not limited. A “connector” can be providedin any form or package desired that is capable of providing a connectionto allow one or more communications lines to be communicativelyconnected or coupled to other communications lines disposed in anotheradapter or connector in which the connector is attached.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the description and claims arenot to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and thatmodifications and other embodiments are intended to be included withinthe scope of the appended claims. It is intended that the embodimentscover the modifications and variations of the embodiments provided theycome within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-fiber cable system, comprising: a firstmulti-fiber, fiber optic cable, comprising: a first plurality of opticfibers; a first end having a first multi-fiber, fiber optic connectorassembly disposed thereon having a first fiber ordering of the firstplurality of optical fibers; and a second end having a secondmulti-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposed thereon having asecond fiber ordering of the first plurality of optical fibers differentfrom the first fiber ordering; and a second multi-fiber, fiber opticcable, comprising: a second plurality of optic fibers; a third endhaving a third multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposedthereon having the second fiber ordering for the second plurality ofoptical fibers; and a fourth end having a fourth multi-fiber, fiberoptic connector assembly disposed thereon having a third fiber orderingof the second plurality of optical fibers different from the secondfiber ordering.
 2. The multi-fiber cable system of claim 1, furthercomprising a third multi-fiber, fiber optic cable, comprising: a thirdplurality of optic fibers; a fifth end having a fifth multi-fiber, fiberoptic connector assembly disposed thereon having the third fiberordering for the third plurality of optical fibers; and a sixth endhaving a sixth multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly disposedthereon having a fourth fiber ordering of the third plurality of opticalfibers different from the third fiber ordering.
 3. The multi-fiber cablesystem of claim 1, wherein the first multi-fiber, fiber optic cable iscomprised of a first plurality of ribbons each containing a plurality ofoptical fibers, and the second multi-fiber, fiber optic cable iscomprised of a second plurality of ribbons each containing a pluralityof optical fibers.
 4. The multi-fiber cable system of claim 1, whereinthe first multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly is comprised of afirst multi-fiber termination push-on (MTP) connector assembly, thesecond multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly is comprised of asecond MTP connector assembly, the third multi-fiber, fiber opticconnector assembly is comprised of a third MTP connector assembly, andthe fourth multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly is comprised of afourth MTP connector assembly.
 5. The multi-fiber cable system of claim1, wherein the first multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly iscomprised of a first LC-style connector assembly, the secondmulti-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly is comprised of a secondLC-style connector assembly, the third multi-fiber, fiber opticconnector assembly is comprised of a third LC connector assembly, andthe fourth multi-fiber, fiber optic connector assembly is comprised of afourth LC-style connector assembly.
 6. The multi-fiber cable system ofclaim 1, wherein the first plurality of optical fibers and the secondplurality of optical fibers are each comprised of optical fibers havingan outer diameter between 70-100 micrometers (μm).
 7. The multi-fibercable system of claim 1, wherein each of the first plurality of opticalfibers and the second plurality of optical fibers is comprised of twohundred (200) or more optical fibers.
 8. The multi-fiber cable system ofclaim 1, wherein the first multi-fiber, fiber optic cable has an outerdiameter less than 5.1 millimeters (mm), and the second multi-fiber,fiber optic cable has an outer diameter less than 5.1 millimeters (mm).9. The multi-fiber cable system of claim 1, wherein each of the firstplurality of optical fibers and the second plurality of optical fibersare comprised of two hundred (200) or more optical fibers; each of thefirst plurality of optical fibers and the second plurality of opticalfibers has an outer diameter between 70-100 micrometers (μm); the firstmulti-fiber, fiber optic cable has an outer diameter less than 5.1millimeters (mm); and the second multi-fiber, fiber optic cable has anouter diameter less than 5.1 millimeters (min).